MAYA MOPAN, Belmopan, Cayo District, Fri. July 14, 2017–A 6-foot deep hole in the yard of the Coy family in Maya Mopan, Belmopan, over which an outdoor toilet was to be built, claimed the life of a 19-month-old infant, Teresa Coy, after she fell into it and drowned about 5:30 yesterday evening.

Little Teresa was found unresponsive in the hole, which was filled with water, about 15 minutes after she disappeared from in front of the family’s house, where she had been playing with her siblings.

The body of the toddler was recovered and taken to the Western Regional Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Teresa Coy, 26, a domestic, the grieving mother of Baby Teresa, told police that the little girl was playing in the front of the yard along with Coy’s three other children (the eldest 7 years), and some children from their neighbourhood. She said that she left them for a short while to do some domestic work in her house.

When she returned, she noticed the baby was missing, and she, the other children, and Magdalena Tiu, Baby Teresa’s aunt who lives nearby, began to search for her.

It was the children who made the grim discovery. They called Magdalena, who raced over to the hole at the back of the yard. She let out a scream when she saw her niece in the water, apparently lifeless. They quickly pulled the child out, but she wasn’t breathing. She had been in the hole, filled with water, for too long.

Magdalena told police that the children had scattered while playing. They were running in different areas and the baby wandered off from the others, unnoticed. She said that everyone is devastated over the tragedy.

Police do not suspect foul play and the cause of the child’s death has been ruled as drowning. They (the police) have sealed the hole to prevent others from falling into it.